Thursday, July 28, 2011

Lamenting Summers' End

Ok, so I haven't been doing a good job of counting down the last weeks of summer vacation.  I've spent most of my time chasing two little ones around and trying to keep them busy and feed. I've really enjoyed my summer with them, hanging out, going to the park, playing in the water, Nick Jr. and Sprout, and  hours of Disney movies, I swear I've seen "The Rescuers" like 100 times this summer and each time I am forced to sing the theme song. I don't mind, it's a nice memory I've created with my daughter and I'm happy to be apart of it.

But now it is time to go back to school. During my down time I read teacher blogs and have seen so many new cool ideas. I want to stay up to date.  In the past I would have tried to implement as many of them as I could fit into two and a half summer months, but not this year. I feel a change coming on. My priorities and my bank account are changing. In the past I would have spent my entire summer doing what my husband calls "teacher stuff". But not this summer. I wanted to spend as much time with the kids as I could and wait right up until August before I really get geared up. Well now I've only got three days left and I'm a little sad.

Saturday, July 16, 2011

And the Count Down begins

Officially 29 days until school starts for teachers. This is the time of year where I start to get anxious about a new group of students. Yes, even after 5 years of teaching I still get anxious for each new crop of students. I wonder about their backgrounds, attitudes, personalities, and how prepared they are for science, among other things. I'm looking forward to this year especially since this will be my first year I am only teaching science and not math too. What a relief! Trying to teach science and math in the past has been a joke. I used to be able to teach science from Aug. to Dec. but when we can back from break science was no longer a priority. So it didn't get taught again until after testing. I always felt like the students were getting a raw deal with that one. And wished for more parents to wise up and demand more, but that was all fantasy. I want so much for this year to be successful. Everyone in the room will be learning, even me. This is the first time I'll be teaching Astronomy. Just thinking about it gives me the jitters. Good jitters, I am oh so excited. I loved learning science in school and I hope I can make it as fun and as exciting and I would want it to be if I was still in school.

Sunday, July 10, 2011

ISN vs. Regular Notebook

I've been debating all summer whether I should use an ISN or a regular notebook. While I really like the idea of engaging students through the ISN, I feel a bit overwhelmed by the process and preparation involved. And any teacher who knows me knows that I would rather steal, beg, or borrow before I have to make something myself. Don't get wrong, I actually do enjoy the work I put into getting the school year together but I really like when someone else does it first. Hmmmm... maybe I could try to combine the two ideas to meet my specific needs. Let me think about that.

Ready, Set, GO!!

Ok, so after reading other teacher blogs for several years now and being throughly inspired, I've decided to start my own. I doubt I'll be using this in the classroom this year. But my goal is to post as often as possible throughout the school year. This school year I'm moving from 4th to 7/8th grade and I couldn't be more excited. The tremendous push of testing in the elementary grades has really put into a bit a rut. So I am hoping that moving to middle school will help reinvigorate my love for teaching. I am also all too excited to be working with older students, again and moving to a new school.